No Sugar shortage in India, prices to ease: ISMA

The sugar industry's apex body, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), on Monday, August 24, asserted that there is no shortage of sugar in the country and that retail prices are expected to come down.

Addressing a press conference, ISMA President Niraj Shirgaokar said prices have risen due to a combination of factors, including speculative buying by traders and bulk consumers, as well as lower production caused by adverse weather conditions.

Shirgaokar categorically stated that mills were not involved in creating artificial scarcity or inflating ex-mill prices.

"India does not have a sugar shortage," Shirgaokar told reporters, adding that prices had started to ease following the government's decision to allow duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar.

He said the closing stock of sugar at the end of September is expected to stand at 35 lakh tonnes.

The ISMA chief further said mills would resume operations around October 15 and produce approximately 10-12 lakh tonnes of sugar during the month of October, against an estimated demand of 24-25 lakh tonnes for the same period.

(Inputs from PTI)